I am a medical anthropologist and Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford. For more information about my work, see the other sections of the website. News is posted below. (The tag line above is shamelessly adapted from Hendrik Hertzberg's blog.)
by Katrina on November 13, 2008
The little yellow tab on Amazon has gone from “pre-order” to “add to basket,” which means the books are shipping! And I’ve already heard from folks they have gotten their copies. Writing this book took much longer than I expected and some days I wasn’t sure the book would ever come out, so this is pretty darn thrilling. I have a few upcoming talks. The first one is in person and the second on air. Please come or tune in. You can even call in for the Leonard Lopate Show.
I’ll be reading at Bookslut in Chicago on December 2, 2008. More info is here.
I’ll be on the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC on December 5, 2008 from 12:20-1pm. I’ll be joined by Janet Green and Katie Baratz to talk about their experiences growing up with an intersex condition, or disorder of sex development.
by Katrina on November 12, 2008
Erin Digitale did a great job writing a short story about Fixing Sex that is accompanied by a podcast interview with the fantastic Paul Costello, executive director of Communication & Public Affairs at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Enjoy!
by Katrina on October 9, 2008
by Katrina on September 23, 2008
There’s been no shortage of debate about the change in nomenclature for intersex conditions recommended in the 2006 Consensus Statement. The debate over the new term— “disorders of sex development”—has proven incredibly heated because it is deeply, achingly personal, centering on who gets to define, determine, and label the truth of one’s life.
Ellen Feder and I have a commentary in the latest Hastings Center Report where we discuss why the issue has been polarizing and what we think the shift can—and cannot—accomplish. It’s in the September/October issue and they are making it available free online later this week. For now, it’s here.
by Katrina on September 8, 2008
The first review is in and it’s from Bitch Magazine. I am thrilled to bits they decided to review it and really pleased that Summer Wood, the reviewer, noted that “Karkazis never loses sight of the authentic lived experiences of intersexed people and their families. . . . Fixing Sex . . . offers a compassionately written discussion of interest to anyone concerned with gender and sexuality, health activism, and human rights.” Really, that [...] Continue Reading…
by Katrina on September 5, 2008
A new study in Science shows cancer is much more complicated than previously thought, which is going to make developing treatments after a tumor has spread a greater challenge. Some researchers looked at every gene in pancreatic and brain tumors—two of the hardest-to-treat cancers. Apparently new therapies such as Novartis’ Gleevec target one gene, but cancer is actually caused by dozens of mutated genes (at least 60 in these two types of cancer).
Instead of [...] Continue Reading…
by Katrina on September 5, 2008
Every week the media seem to grossly oversimplify the results of some study making claims that are just over the top. It seems high time to chronicle these. I’ll post the better ones as I find them. Here, my friends, is the cause of marital discord, covered in the esteemed Washington Post: Study Links Gene Variant in Men to Marital Discord.
Men are more likely to be devoted and loyal husbands when they lack a
particular [...] Continue Reading…
by Katrina on August 20, 2008
Thanks to Duke, the introduction for my book is now available here.
by Katrina on August 20, 2008
I know I’m late to the game here, but I just saw the film XXY. I was reluctant to see it because I’ve seen way too many TV programs etc on intersex that just make me cringe and I tend to be nervous about most films that center on issues of gender or sexual variance for fear they’ll be either exploitative or strident. But when Ellen Feder told me to see it, I decided [...] Continue Reading…
by Katrina on August 19, 2008
Jane Brody, of the New York Times, has a nice piece about the difficulty of determining when to stop treating cancer and instead turn toward palliative care. Much of what she writes in the piece applies to other conditions. You can find it here.
